New satcom component readied for LightSquared arrival
Satellite communications provider Inmarsat and aviation standards organizations have been working on a solution to a lesser-publicized aspect of the planne

Satellite communications provider Inmarsat and aviation standards organizations have been working on a solution to a lesser-publicized aspect of the planned LightSquared broadband wireless network–the potential for the system’s high-power transmitters to interfere with satcom as well as GPS navigation signals.

RTCA Special Committee 222 is involved in defining minimum performance standards for an antenna diplexer with the filtering necessary to prevent LightSquared base stations transmitting at L-band frequencies (1,525 to 1,559 MHz) from interfering with reception of Inmarsat aeronautical service in the same band. Also involved is the Arinc AEEC Air Ground Communication System subcommittee, developing the engineering specification for a diplexer/low-noise amplifier, a satcom subsystem that separates transmit and receive signals and amplifies the received signal.